Thousands of NHS jobs cut as axe falls

Thousands of NHS jobs are being cut, including hundreds in the West Midlands, despite Government promises to protect frontline services, a union warned today.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is aware of almost 10,000 posts that have been lost through recruitment freezes, redundancies and people not replaced when they retire, or which face future cuts.

In April, it warned at least 5,600 posts had been lost or were earmarked for cuts, based on data from 26 trusts in England, because of a spending squeeze.

Now it says figures from 100 NHS organisations in England show 9,973 posts have gone, been frozen, or will go.

This is the equivalent of 47 jobs a day over the last six months.

At Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Sandwell, City and Rowley Regis Hospitals, more than 20 staff have been made redundant as part of a cost-cutting shake-up which will see more than 340 posts shed as part of a £20 million efficiency programme.

Bosses say the cuts have been made through measures such as natural wastage, redeployment and reducing bank and agency use.

There were 17 voluntary and nine compulsory redundancies, while 10 staff at risk were redeployed within the trust and one in another NHS trust.

A further person at risk is currently undertaking a trial period in another role within the trust. None of the compulsory redundancies were frontline nursing posts and the trust did not consider voluntary redundancy requests from frontline nurses.

Ministers have told the NHS to find between £15 and £20 billion in efficiency savings by 2014 but Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has promised to protect frontline services.

Dr Peter Carter, chief executive of the RCN, said the latest job figures did not bode well for the future and "logic would suggest" the number of posts under threat is actually higher.

The real effects of these measures have not really started to kick in," he said.